


forging an unbreakable bond

by thisfairytalegonebad



Series: three times they could feel each other [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: (sort of), Canon Compliant, Gen, Soul Bond, pre-game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:49:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26567599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisfairytalegonebad/pseuds/thisfairytalegonebad
Summary: Ignis is the first one to be connected to Noctis. Gladio and Prompto follow years later.A prequel tothree times they could feel each other.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia & Noctis Lucis Caelum, Gladiolus Amicitia & Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia, Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia, Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum
Series: three times they could feel each other [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1932265
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	forging an unbreakable bond

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I remembered I had this first chapter fully written in my documents and had entirely forgotten about it (or rather, I forgot I'd finished it and was procrastinating finishing it, and I only realized today it was already done).
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Noct knows the basics of what the crystal is, but he doesn’t really understand it. He knows that it’s magic, that his dad gets magic from the crystal, and that he has magic too. He also knows that his dad’s friends are connected to him because of the crystal, and the last time his dad did the ritual, he’d paid extra attention to the things he did to make sure he knows how to do it himself.

Sneaking out at night isn’t difficult. Ignis always helps him, and Ignis knows where all the guards are during the night, so they just have to be really quiet and careful. They’ve done it many times, so by now they’re really good at not making any noise, and nobody ever notices.

Noct’s favourite place to go to during the night when he’s supposed to be asleep is the observatory. He likes looking at the stars, and he likes listening to the stories Ignis tells him about the stars. Noct can never memorize the patterns in the stars, but Ignis always points them out to him when he asks and willingly tells him the story to go with each picture.

Tonight, though, he pulls Ignis in the opposite direction. Away from the stairs that lead upstairs to the observatory and down into the basement. Noct doesn’t like the basement very much. It’s creepy and sometimes there are spiders there, but there’s also the crystal, and that was where they need to go tonight.

“C’mon, faster,” he whispers, insistently tugging on Ignis’ wrist as he pulls him along.

“Noct, wait!” Ignis protests. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” Noct promises. If he tells Ignis where they are going, surely Ignis would just say they can’t and make him go back to bed.

The thing is that Ignis would be right. Noct isn’t technically allowed in the crystal room. His dad never explained why, but he caught him in front of the crystal once when he just wanted to look at it and scolded him for running off to places he shouldn’t go. He also said that Noct couldn’t touch the crystal, which is okay because he doesn’t have to. Ignis, on the other hand, does have to touch it for the ritual to work. He doesn’t think Ignis will be happy about it, but if he wants to be connected to Ignis like his dad is to his friends, it has to be.

When they round the corner before the crystal room, Noct quickly pulls back behind the corner, gesturing for Ignis to stop walking.

“There’s a guard,” he whispers. He completely forgot about the guard! His dad says that there might be people wanting to steal the crystal, so it has to be protected. There’s no way they’re going to get past this guard now…

“Of course there is a guard, let’s go back!” Ignis hisses. He looked very, very uncomfortable, but Noct doesn’t have time for that. He needs to think, he refuses to go back to bed with unfinished business.

Finally, he grabs Ignis’ hand and pulls him around the corner, towards the guard.

“Excuse me?” he says, quietly, trying to sound as scared and lost as possible. “I think we got lost. Can you help us?”

The guard - Noct doesn’t know his name, he never met him before - quickly bows and says, “Your Highness! You shouldn’t be out of bed, what are you doing?”

“I had a nightmare so we wanted to go to my dad. He’s probably still working in his office. But everything looks different in the dark and we couldn’t find it, please help.”

The guard hesitates for a moment before he sighs and walks past them, gesturing for them to catch up. “Follow me. I’ll take you to His Majesty’s office.”

Noct shares a quick glance with Ignis and follows the guard. Once they’re back up the stairs, Noct quietly falls behind, still holding onto Ignis’ hand. The guard marches on, not noticing they’re not following anymore.

Perfect. Noct turns around and tip-toes until they’re around a corner, and then he starts running.

He almost trips down the stairs because he also has to make sure Ignis is following, but he doesn’t have time to stop. When the guard notices they’re gone, he’ll come looking for them, and then Ignis won’t be allowed to touch the crystal anymore.

The door to the crystal room is heavier than he thought, but with a lot of pulling and straining and help from Ignis, he manages to get it open.

“C’mon,” he calls, running up to the crystal. “Quick, you gotta touch it!”

“ _What_?” Ignis squeaks. It’d be funny if it weren’t so frustrating, they gotta hurry!

“Please, Iggy!” Noct urges. “Trust me, I know how it works. I watched dad do it, I promise, nothing bad is gonna happen!”

Ignis still doesn’t look like he’s going to do it, so Noct resorts to his strongest weapon. He makes his best puppy dog eyes and stares at Ignis pleadingly and says, “Please?”

Still looking scared, Ignis looks at the crystal and then at him, and then he takes a very careful step towards the crystal.

Yes!

And then, Noct hears someone running down the stairs, no doubt the guard.

"Quick!” he yelps, and finally, Ignis walks up to the crystal.

Quickly, Noct recites the words he’s heard his dad say during the ritual. He’s not too sure he’s getting all of them right, and some are really big words that he stumbles over, but he doesn’t think the words are the important part anyway. They can’t do magic with their words like the wizards in his bedtime stories, his dad just has to say them because they sound pretty and make everyone pay attention. As long as Iggy touches the crystal, it’ll probably work.

He doesn’t know what he expected, but suddenly Noct feels something- no, someone, but not like they’re touching him. Not his body, more like from the inside, and it feels very familiar even though he thinks it should be scary, someone touching him from the inside.

Looking over, he sees Ignis’ hand on the crystal. Ignis himself looks very surprised, but he’s not letting go of the crystal. It makes Noct wonder if he’s feeling it too, because he’s starting to realize what he’s feeling is Ignis.

There’s no time to ask because the guard bursts through the door, looking breathless and worried and, oh, a little angry. Makes sense, Noct figures, since they snuck past him into a room they’re not supposed to go into. And now he’s probably gonna tell Dad, and then Noct’s gonna get in trouble…

It’s alright, though, because Ignis is connected to him and Noct can feel him without touching him and it feels _right_. He just hopes Iggy won’t be punished for it. If he is, Noct’ll just tell them it was all his idea, hopefully, that’ll keep Iggy out of trouble.

The guard calls for backup, someone to guard the room while he’s away, but that’s not really necessary now because the ritual worked and Noct doesn’t need to go into the crystal room anymore. He tries to tell that to the guard, but the guard tells him to be quiet and then leads them straight to Dad’s office. This time, he makes them walk in front of him.

Ignis is very quiet the whole time. Noct knows he’s scared of being punished, and even though he’s happy his plan worked, he’s sorry he scared Iggy. He tries to make him feel better by squeezing his hand a little, but he doesn’t think it helps much.

When they’re in Dad’s office, the guard explains what happened and is then sent away. Dad turns his attention to Noct, and even though it’s fine if he’s being punished, it’s still a little scary when Dad looks at him like that.

“Noctis, what did you do?”

Noct frowns a little because the guard just told Dad what he did, didn’t he? Still, he replies, “I took Iggy to the crystal room and told him to touch it.”

“And he did.” It’s not a question, but Noct answers anyway.

“Yeah. It wasn’t his idea, though. Don’t punish him.”

“I won’t.” Dad looks… not even that angry, a little angry but not very much, so Noct believes him. He’s not sure Ignis believes it, because he still seems to be worried about being punished.

“Why did you tell Ignis to touch the crystal?” Dad asks.

“Your friends are connected to you because of the crystal. Iggy is my friend, so I wanted to be connected to him. I watched you do the ritual last time so I knew what to do.” Noct is a little proud of himself for memorizing the difficult words, but he doesn’t think his dad is all that proud of him right now.

“I should have stopped him, Your Majesty,” Ignis speaks up for the first time. “I apologize, and I understand if you wish to punish me.”

Dad sighs heavily and sits down in his chair. He looks at Noct, and then at Ignis.

“You have nothing to fear, Ignis. This was my son’s idea, not yours.” And then, to Noct, he says, “Noctis, I hope you know what you did was wrong. There are rules for a reason, and you broke them. I will think of an appropriate way to punish you for it.”

Feeling a little guilty, Noct looks to the floor. “I’m sorry, dad. Are you gonna take the connection away?”

He doesn’t want for that to happen. It feels so nice having Ignis with him all the time, and if his dad breaks the connection, it’ll be gone. The thought lets tears well up in his eyes.

“No,” his dad says. He sounds a little tired. “The connection cannot be broken. It is a bond that lasts for a lifetime, which is why it is not forged carelessly. But it is very likely that Ignis would eventually have been granted access to the Armiger anyway, if only as an adult. Even if it were possible to break the bond, I would not do it unless either of you wished it, for I’m confident Ignis will remain at your side with or without a bond. Isn’t that right, Ignis?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Ignis says, no fear left in his voice. He sounds absolutely sure of himself when he says it, not like he feels like he has to say it like he sometimes does when he has to apologize to a stupid person but isn’t actually sorry at all.

“Very good. However, it does mean that you will need to start your magic education alongside Noctis. You need to be able to control the Armiger and the magic that comes with it.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Ignis says. He sounds thrilled about it; Noct knows he’s always been interested in magic. Anything new to learn Iggy’s gonna love, so Noct’s even happier about the bond now.

“Good. Now back to bed, both of you. I’ll let you know of your punishment tomorrow, Noctis.”

“Yes, Dad,” Noct says as he slides off the chair. “Night!”

* * *

Two years later, Ignis wakes up disoriented and sobbing. He feels like he can’t breathe, but he can’t figure out why. It’s the most terrified he’s ever felt, but it’s nothing compared to the horror that grips him when he realizes that he’s alone.

He’s in his room and it’s in the middle of the night, so of course he’s physically alone, but for the first time in two years, there’s no connection to Noct. Noct is simply… not there.

Noct’s not there and Ignis doesn’t know what to do, King Regis said the bond could not be broken, so why-

And then, it snaps back into place without a warning and Ignis actually doubles over in his bed. It’s Noctis, unmistakably, because Ignis would know Noct anywhere. But it’s different now, weak and barely there, like he’s very far away. That doesn’t make sense either, because distance has never made a difference before, why would it now?

He stumbles out of his bed, nearly tangling himself up in the covers in the process.

In the living room, his uncle is already (still?) up and talking on the phone. The way he gestures and paces does nothing to combat the cold feeling in Ignis’ stomach; his uncle is the calmest person he knows. For him to be this agitated, something truly terrible must have happened.

When Ignis steps into the living room, his uncle doesn’t notice him at first. But as soon as he turns around and sees his nephew standing in the doorway, he tells whoever is on the other end of the call that he’d call them back later and puts his phone away.

“What happened?” Ignis asks in a shaky voice before his uncle has the chance to say anything. He doesn’t want to hear reassurances and placations; he needs the truth.

His uncle sighs. “Ignis, perhaps we should sit-”

“No!” Ignis cuts him off. His uncle pauses, clearly taken aback. Of course, Ignis never talks back like this, but right now, Ignis can’t bring himself to care. “Tell me, _please_.”

Ignis’ uncle is silent for a beat or two.

“There has been a daemon attack. His Majesty is alive and well, but His Highness was badly injured. He is being prepared for emergency surgery as we speak.”

For the second time this night, Ignis feels like he can’t breathe. Surgery. That means Noct’s injuries are severe, too severe for the King’s magic to fix.

“I felt-” Ignis starts, chokes on the words, tries anew. “I felt it. He was gone.”

Ignis can’t remember the last time his uncle hugged him. But now, his uncle looks at him with something like pity and concern and picks him up in his arms.

“I’m sorry, Ignis. I cannot even imagine what it felt like.”

Ignis hides his face in his uncle’s shoulder, feeling very much like a small child. On any other day, he would have felt embarrassed; he and his uncle are not in the habit of _hugging_ , but now he takes comfort in his uncle’s warmth when everything else feels cold. 

“He feels so weak,” he whispers. Even though he tries not to focus on the way Noct feels as if he might disappear at any moment, he keeps reaching for the bond to reassure himself Noct is still there, still alive.

“The doctors are doing everything in their power. Don’t forget they have access to magic healing as well. His chances are good,” his uncle says, but he doesn’t tell him Noct will be okay. Of course. There’s no way to know for sure until the surgery is over and Noct is on the mend.

“Can I see him?”

His uncle sighs as he sets him down on the couch, like it pains him greatly to tell Ignis no. “Not right now, and likely not tomorrow either. He’ll be in intensive care and the only one allowed in his room will be His Majesty.”

Ignis rarely cries, hasn’t cried in front of anyone since he was a small child. Tonight, he falls asleep after sobbing his heart out against his uncle’s chest.

* * *

At first, Ignis feared that the King would not want him in the room with him and Noct. But His Majesty assured him he wasn’t bothering him, and Ignis really wants to be with Noct, so he drags a chair to the other side of Noct’s bed and waits.

He doesn’t know what he’s waiting for- Noct to wake up, ideally. Or maybe for the King to say something, or for someone else to come inside. Surely, there are other people who want to see Noct, make sure he’s alright.

Nothing happens. The King is silent, so silent Ignis can’t even hear him breathe. The only noise in the room is the beeping of Noct’s heart monitor.

The silence is almost torturous, the beeping makes him feel like he’s going to lose his mind, and Ignis has a question he needs to ask, but it takes fifteen minutes of internal debate until he finds the courage to break the silence.

“May I ask you a question, Your Majesty?” he finally asks, very, very quietly, but it still sounds entirely too loud.

The King looks at him, not unkind, but his expression is hard to read. Ignis already regrets speaking up; surely the last thing King Regis wants now is to answer his stupid questions, no matter how kind he always is towards Ignis. 

“Of course,” His Majesty says. He’s already turned his eyes away from Ignis and back to Noct, but Ignis understands. It must be terrible to see his child lying motionless and injured, and Ignis is hesitant to ask his question for it is sure to remind the King of the accident once again.

“When Noctis- I mean, His Highness, right after the accident, he… I felt…” Ignis trails off, unsure how to continue.

“He died,” the King finishes for him, his voice quiet and pained.

Ignis swallows. “Yes. I… felt it. I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything quite as painful in my life. Forgive me if I am out of line, Your Majesty, but how can you bear it? How do the other Crownsguard bear it?”

It’s a question that has plagued Ignis since he’s recovered from the shock of almost losing Noct. It’s no secret that there are casualties among the Crownsguard every once in a while. One particularly tragic incident killed almost ten Crownsguard a few months ago, and Ignis simply cannot imagine bearing the pain he felt tenfold.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… The Crownsguard are connected to you like I am to His Highness, aren’t they? When one of them dies, how do you stand the pain, every time?”

King Regis meets his eyes, and Ignis quickly lowers his gaze.

“The Armiger doesn’t work that way,” the King says. “They are connected to me, yes, but the strength of the bond very much depends on one’s relationship with a person. If I focus on the Armiger right now, I can feel all of them, but the majority are in the background and it takes conscious effort to focus on them. I can, however, feel Clarus and the Marshal in the foreground at all times, without having to seek them out.”

That’s completely new information, so Ignis takes a moment to contemplate. “So you don’t feel it as strongly when one of the others… dies?”

“Yes. I do feel it, and it is still painful, although not nearly as severely as it would be if Clarus died. I am fortunate, my boy. I have not yet had to bear the pain of losing one bonded to me with whom I was truly close, and I am very sorry you have had to experience it at such a young age.”

Ignis shifts in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable. “I’m just glad he came back,” he says quietly.

“Yes,” King Regis says, the volume of his voice matching Ignis’. “So am I.”

**Author's Note:**

> There's gonna be two more chapters, one for Prompto, and one for Gladio. The Prompto one I've already partly written, but it'll probably only be around half the length of this one. I'm not too sure about the Gladio one yet, aaaand I can't make any promises on how long it'll take me to update because my creativity has all but dried up, as has my motivation, and writing is quite the ordeal at the moment. Buuut yes, something to expect, at least!
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed this, are enjoying your day, and thanks a bunch for reading!
> 
> I'm also on Twitter (@Butterfly_OnIce) and Tumblr (thisfairytalegonebad), and even on Discord too (thisfairytalegonebad#2939) and I'm always happy to chat!


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